Charity Accounting Software in Ireland | HelloBooks Bookkeeping for Irish charities and clubs: tracking public and non-public funding, the Charities VAT Compensation Scheme and clean records for trustees.
Most Irish charities and clubs are run by volunteers who want the books to be simple and the trustees to be confident. Many charities pay VAT they cannot reclaim, and Revenue’s Charities VAT Compensation Scheme partly refunds it, based on the share of income that is not public funding. HelloBooks keeps income by source, captures every receipt, and gives treasurers and auditors one shared, live set of books.
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Revenue describes the scheme as one that aims to reduce the VAT burden on charities by partly compensating for VAT they pay. The refund is based on the charity’s level of non-public funding. A charity makes one claim a year, covering VAT paid in the previous year, and claims are accepted only between 1 January and 30 June. The total fund is capped at €10 million a year, and refunds are reduced proportionately if claims exceed it.
Because the compensation depends on non-public income, the books need to separate grants from government bodies from donations, fundraising and trading income. Set up separate income accounts from the start; reconstructing the split at claim time from bank statements is slow and error-prone.
A claim needs evidence of the VAT paid. Photograph or upload every supplier invoice, and HelloBooks reads the VAT amount and attaches the document to its payment. At year end, a report of VAT paid on costs is ready for the claim, with each figure traceable to an invoice.
Grants given for a specific purpose should be tracked separately from general funds. Use dedicated income and expense accounts for each restricted fund so the treasurer can show the funder how the money was spent.
Trustees need income by source, spending by activity and the balance of each restricted fund, presented clearly at every meeting. With income and costs coded as they happen, those figures come from the reports in minutes rather than being assembled the night before.
Clubs and charities often collect membership fees, event tickets and donations through several channels: bank transfer, card readers, online platforms and cash at events. Give each channel its own income account so the totals reconcile to the money actually received, and lodge cash promptly with a note of the event.
Treasurers change. Keeping the books in a shared online system, rather than on one volunteer’s laptop, means the next treasurer inherits complete records and the auditor or independent examiner can review them directly.
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